Grosdale Toll Bridge commissioners spent much of their first meeting weighing whether to outsource toll-bridge staffing or keep the existing employees on the township payroll. Township Manager Derek Thiel presented responses to a staffing request for proposals and urged commissioners to compare the proposals to the township’s current cost of employing the bridge staff.

The issue matters because the commission must balance continuity of operations, employee benefits and deductibles, and the financial terms offered by private staffing firms. “We would like to try to get resolution to this by the end of the calendar year,” Thiel said, noting employees had already moved to township health plans and could face multiple deductible “resets” if their employer changes before Jan. 1.

Why it matters: commissioners and staff said decisions about staffing affect employee retention, short-term healthcare costs and long-term operating budgets. Teresa McLaughlin, the township’s financial director, recommended a side‑by‑side comparison of existing costs versus vendor proposals and told commissioners she would provide detailed reports about current payroll and benefit costs.

Commission discussion and next steps: commissioners heard that eight proposals had been received and that most proposers planned to retain the current employees. Thiel said some proposals are several months old and that addenda with updated employee census and health‑benefit information were later distributed. Commissioners requested the township provide:
- an updated, itemized cost comparison showing current township payroll and benefit costs for the 11 bridge employees; and
- clarification from the top two or three bidders that their pricing and staffing assumptions are still valid.

Vice Chair Daryl McCartney and other commissioners urged moving in parallel: narrow the RFP field while staff compiles current-cost benchmarks. Commissioner Chris Johnson said he preferred interviewing a small group of finalists and asking for best-and-final offers. Thiel and McLaughlin recommended involving Operations Manager Maureen Farrell in vendor interviews because she supervises the existing staff.

Discussion versus action: the commission did not select a contractor or change the employees’ status at the meeting. Commissioners said they are sensitive to promises made to voters during the purchase process and do not want to make a choice that contradicts previous representations without explaining the reasons to the public.

Operational context: the commission heard that the bridge’s workforce currently includes 11 employees (10 full-time and one part-time), most of whom expressed a desire to remain employed in their roles. Thiel also noted construction plans that could require a long closure (the engineering proposals range from about 18–24 months for some work) and asked commissioners to consider vendor proposals’ handling of staffing during any extended closure.

What’s next: staff will resend the updated cost comparison and propose an action-item for the next meeting to select a small number of firms for interviews. Commissioners asked staff to aim for a decision process that avoids multiple midyear benefit resets for staff and to provide any additional financial impacts such as potential unemployment reimbursements if employees are laid off during construction.